Food Labels Flashcards
Name the 2 key legislations for food labelling
Food Information Regulations (FIR)
Food information to Consumers Regulations (FIC)
Why do we need food labels?
Information about a food
Facilitate choice
Accurate and must not mislead
Nutrition communication
Food safety
Give some of the regulations FIC has set out on labelling of prepacked food
Name of the food-sufficiently descriptive to inform the consumer of the trye nature of the food
List of ingredients
Allergen information
Quantitative declaration of ingredients
Net quantity
Storage conditions and date labelling
Name and address of manufacturer
Country of origin or place if provenance
Preparation instructions
Nutrition deceleration
Additional labelling requirements - sweeteners or sugars, aspartame and colouring, liquorice, caffeine, polyols
Name some of the food allergens required to be declared
Gluten
Peanuts
Tree nuts
Celery
Mustard
Eggs
Milk
Sesame
Fish
Crustaceans
Molluscs
Soya
Sulphites
Lupin
Explain what Use-by date and Best-before dates are
Used- by dates:
About safety
This is the most important date to remember. Never eat food after the use-by date, even if it looks or smells ok, as it could make you very ill
You can et food until midnight on the use-by date shown on a product unless the food has been cooked or frozen
For the use-by date to be a valid guide, you must carefully follow the food’s storage instructions
After the use-by date, don’t eat, cook or freeze your food. And remember, you cannot smell the bacteria which make you ill
Best-before dates
Are about quality
After the best-before date listed on a product, the food will be safe to eat but may not be at its best, best-before dates appear on a wide range of foods including:
Frozen foods, dried foods, tinned foods and cheese
How should ingredients be labelled?
In order by weight and allergens in bold
Explain what QUID is
Quantitative declaration of ingredients (QUID)
Appearing in the name of the food or usually associated with the name by the consumer (e.g. the meat in a ‘shepherds pie’)
Emphasis over other ingredients - on the labelling in any way, e.g. by being pictured
Characterising a food where the nature of the food many otherwise be unclear as the result of the name used (e.g. a foreign name) or the food’s appearance
Explain how nutrition should be labelled on food packaging
Back of pack
Mandatory nutritional information per 100g voluntary per portion
Supplementary nutrients don’t have to be provided
Vitamins or minerals present in significant amounts (plus % reference intakes)
No other nutrient or substance may be declared in the nutrition declaration
What does the Nutrition and health claims (Regulation 1924/2006) claim about nutritional and health claims
Nutritional claim
Any claim which states, suggests or implies that a food has particulate beneficial nutritional properties due to the energy it provides, provides at a reduced or increased rate, does not provide or the nutrient or other substances it contains, contains in reduced or increased proportions or does not contain
Health claim
Any claim that sates, suggests or implies that a relationship exists between a food category, a food or one of its constituents and health
What are FOP labels?
Front of package labels
The aim is to provide consumers with at-a-glance nutrition information so that they can make informed food choices and balance their diets and control their energy intake
Uses a nutrient profile model to present nutritional quality/nutritional value
Simple graphical
UK system is often referred to as Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL)
Name the 3 types of FOP labels
Non-interpretive - no guidance on nutrients
Interactive Analytical Nutrients - Nutrients
Aggregate Interpretive - No nutrients, at a glance guidance
What are the keys things that need to be considered when developing a FOP label?
Reference amounts need to be decided
Key negative nutrients (because the inclusion of positive nutrients (fiber, vitamins minerals) promotes health perceptions of a product)
Negative nutrients relevant to that country
Exclude use on infants and alcoholic drinks
Base nutrient criteria per 100g enable comparisons
Serving sizes vary and on packaging are often less than what is consumed (WHO page 32)
What does the UK Multi Traffic Light (MTL) front of pack labelling tell consumer?
Energy (kJ and Kcal) per 100g or 100ml and in a specified portion
Amounts of fat, saturates, sugars, and salt in a specified portion
Portion size information
% RI information based on the amount of each nutrient and energy value in a portion
Red, amber, and green color coding of the nutrients (not energy)
The descriptors “High”, “Medium” and “Low” can also be used.
